Overwatch fans are trying to decode the latest 'Sigma' teasers

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Fans have interesting theories for Sigma's origins.

(Image credit: Blizzard)

Blizzard is having a grand old time teasing the next Overwatch hero. A new video from the official Overwatch Twitter shows a close up of what looks like a lab suit with an identification tag. Most notably, you can spot the Greek letter "Σ" on the tag—the symbol for Sigma. It's not the first time that word has popped up recently.

Just yesterday, we reported on a possible leak from last week that suggests the hero is named Sigma (and also shows his face). The use of the symbol in today's teaser seems to support that. 

But fans are after more than just a name or a face, they're trying to decode Sigma's abilities and possibly his relationship with other Overwatch heroes from the two teasers. Nothing is concrete, but there are some interesting consistencies.

Both teasers, the one from yesterday where Jeff Kaplan gets sucked into a weird wormhole and today's with the tag, definitely have one thing in common—old music. The piano song heard in both teasers is Erik Satie's "Gnossienne No. 1" from the late 19th century (as pointed out by eagle-eared YouTuber TheFakeKenzo on Twitter).

Naturally, this coincidence (and references to music in both tweet bodies) has players assuming that Sigma is a musically-inclined hero, not unlike Lúcio. In fact, some are drawing direct connections between the two.

"Lúcio uses music to speed things up, and based off what people are saying about these equations Sigma might be able to use music to slow things down," said Reddit user BallOutBoy. Others have pointed out that Sigma might work for Vishkar—the in-lore company that produced the technology Symmetra and Lúcio employ.

The equations BallOutBoy refers to are the ones seen towards the end of the first teaser. Yesterday, Reddit user ztokdo posted a long theoretical breakdown of the equations that I won't pretend to understand most of. The gist is that ztokdo believes the equations allude to Sigma's power over gravity—namely, the ability to curve bullets around the vicinity of a grenade, fire an anti-gravity beam, and form a protective barrier that catches bullets midair.

Nowhere in the equations are any explicit references to the abilities as described here. They're simply extrapolations based on the mathematical uses of the equations. This interpretation doesn't specifically mention Sigma's supposed musical connection.

It could all mean nothing, or it could mean everything. It's hard to tell with Overwatch reveals. Blizzard is absolutely capable of elaborate puzzles hidden in the smallest places, but Sigma could also just be a fan of Erik Satie.

Based on Blizzard's history revealing new heroes, we probably won't have to wait long to know the truth.

Morgan Park
Morgan Park
Staff Writer

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.